i like the stories, the histories of the katas and the forms, and the zen philosophy that goes with it

So do I mate but I think in the pragmatic martial sense the consensus generally here is:

Muay Thai, Boxing, Judo, BJJ, Kyokushin, and Sambo for the aliveness of their styles.

I'm with you though, I have to admit missing some of the cultural aspects of TMA. That's why to try to get the mental/cultural side down I am learning Tai Chi. I was an international affairs major(China) back in the day so the cultural aspect is important to me too. Good luck and don't be afraid to learn your preconceptions might be incorrect.

If the honey badgers were all to unite, humanity wouldn't stand a chance.

I'm with you though, I have to admit missing some of the cultural aspects of TMA.

You are missing it, and so is the majority of the community, because you can't find it anymore.
Most TMA places are run by old, fat white guys with weeaboo obsession who collect katanas and think speaking in bad Chinese or Japanese makes them cultural and moral demigods.

This right here, is who you learn from.

As for me, my old Judo coach was Japanese, so right there I have a better claim to Zen than most McDojo enablers.

One thing the Chinese figured out a couple decades ago that westerners are still picking up on is that pretending your a tiger while fighting and winning a fight are at cross purposes with one another. So they bifurcated their martial arts into performance wushu - where you get to do as many flippities and tiger claws as you want - and Sanda - where the goal is to beat the **** out of the other guy.
The results of San Da are well noted, but wushu has also produced way, way cooler-looking routines than the traditional Chinese floor gymnastics. Compare the videos you posted above to this guy:

You need to have clear goals to succeed.

The fool thinks himself immortal,
If he hold back from battle;
But old age will grant him no truce,
Even if spears spare him.

The chinese place with xingyi and ba gua zha also teaches southern crane and tiger. i dont know if this is the same as th crane and tiger taught in the "five animals" of kung fu. I hope it is, that school is sounding better and better. The teacher there reminded me that xingyi has animal forms in it as well.

I think that must be a great school, san shou, southern tiger and crane, xing yi and bagua zha plus tai chi.

what exactly is southern crane and tiger

The five animals school is also a yoga studio. I cannot decide but I am pretty excited to try them out in person.

but that isnt how kung fu works, just look up xingyi and bagua on wike. isnt that awesome? Im excited but I think im leaning toward learning the five ancestral animals first.... while i can be fit enough to perform to that level of conditioning...